Desktop Publisher's Idea Book

by Chuck Green

Book Overview

Professional designs -- create them yourself -- for print or for web Using your own desk top publishing or word processing software and laser printer, you can easily create all 104 design projects... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553371738
• ISBN13: 9780553371734
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Random House Information Group
• Length: 311 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Fabulous for all but the least creative reader

With so many desktop publishing books on the market, it's easy to get confused as to quality. The truth is that there's something of knowledge to be gained in just about every book. What's difficult is finding one right for your current level of knowledge-and one that will help you move on in your education. This book will be of such help to at least three distinct types of reader. First, despite the fact that it's not the book's focus, design theory makes its way almost unintentionally onto each page. This isn't a design book, so it doesn't actually _instruct_ you in the art. But the images in the book are competent, generic examples of standard principles of design. If you follow the basic constructs the author offers, you will, perhaps without meaning to, produce work that is suitably well-designed for almost any commercial purpose. Second, the book gives an overview of how to get your designs from idea to computer to paper. It doesn't tell you specifically how to use your particular software or a particular printing company. I'm not sure the word "Adobe" or "Corel" appears anywhere in the text. What it gives you are the steps necessary to create high quality work on a shoestring budget. It gives you information about where to get clip art, how to deal with an illustrator specifically hired for a certain job, what are the most common fonts used in professional applications, how to ensure you're not violating copyright. These are areas that have had relatively minimal coverage in the instructional press, so the somewhat scant attention this book gives is a comparative abundance. In particular, the book has helpful information on how to find a good service bureau for your final output. The notion of contracting with printers in other parts of the country is a concept that will be foreign to a number of readers. It's a common practice to large companies, but this book makes real the possibility for smaller businesses and home enthusiasts. Third, the book reaches people who have a great deal of experience with desktop publishing, but may need a single, unified resources for the multiplicity of "special" projects they infrequently may be called upon to make. How do you make buttons, for instance? How do you label a shipping tube? How do you create a magnetized memo? Who makes baseball caps and can I create my own design for them? Can I really make personalized coasters for my 15th high school reunion? Where can I have personalized Post-It (tm) Notes made? These, and many other "unusual" projects are given great attention in this book. Indeed, this is really the book's focus. The author, Chuck Green, has an obvious passion for personalization. He wants you to know that for any purpose, be it commercial or personal, there's a way to make a great impression that you haven't thought about. In that quest, Mr. Green has used his book to centralize thousands of disparate addresses, ph

Chuck's brain should be bronzed!

There's no need to come up with original design ideas when you can just steal them from this book. I've never seen a more complete desktop publishing book packed with simple, uncluttered, and unique design ideas. The book is n divided according to the type of document you need to publish: tickets, invitations, brochures, flyers, websites etc. Chuck also jumps out of the box and offers suggestions for jazzing up forms (timesheets, document routing records, meeting agendas), packaging projects (jars, mailing tubes, shipping labels), post-it notes, baseball caps, and t-shirts. There are just too many categories to name.There are photos for every design, along with the specs: spacing, font type and size, and credits for the clipart or photo used in the design. Chuck makes it way too easy to knock-off his ideas.

Inspiring and Practical

I used this book as a classroom text for a DTP course I was running. The students loved it, not just because it showed sample layouts with good use of contrasting fonts and plenty of white space, but also because the projects were practical and small scale, aimed at someone with a laser printer and office supplies. Green's ideas show that with a couple of quality fonts and classy clip art anyone can potentially do good design. I'd like to see a new edition that takes advantage of the low costs of digital presses, but as it stands the book is inspiring. Note, by the way, that most of the projects are designed for US-sized stationery, but can be adapted.

Great Book, heaps of practical ideas

This book is a goldmine of ideas. Not only can you see what the finished result will look like but you are given measurements (albeit imperial) for the placement of graphics and text. You are also told what fonts and paper to use. For me it was easy to create professional looking documents quickly. Well worth the money.

A very important book.

The first edition of the Chuck Green's Desktop Publisher's Idea Book was an important book; the second edition is even more important. It covers more topics and includes a very important section on web design. The Desktop Publisher's Idea Book is noteworthy from several points of view. For example: 1) Text is limited, providing space for large, informative story-telling illustrations. 2) Full information is provided, including typeface, type size and other formatting specifications. 3) Unlike many so-called "design" books, the Desktop Publishing Idea Book practices what it preaches. Pages are open and uncluttered, with plenty of white space. 4) A far wider variety of projects are included than most desktop publishing design books. This is an easy book to like.